Quaestiones

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"Newt Scamander!" Tina yelled as she stormed out of her room. He wasn't at the table. Turning to the right, she stalked towards his door and pushed it open. His case sat open in the middle of the floor. Without stopping to think, she quickly climbed the ladder and made her way out of the shed. 

"Scamander!" she called.

Newt appeared a moment later, looking mildly alarmed and rather disheveled. He had removed his waistcoat and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up past his elbows. He had pushed his suspenders off his shoulders and they hung around his legs. His shirt was half untucked. His hair was messier than usual, sticking up in all directions, and he wiped his hands on a cloth.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a worried frown forming on his forehead.

Tina stood in front of him, her hands on her hips. "Mr. Scamander, I was going through the things in my room and I found something."

Newt inhaled sharply, suddenly nervous. What could she have found? What does she have in her room that would make her react like this? Newt's heart skipped a beat. Could she have found-- He shook the thought away. No, even if she did, she wouldn't have known it was from me.

"W-what was it?" he asked hesitantly.

Tina frowned. "I found a box under my bed," she explained. "Inside that box was a whole collection of letters from you." 

Newt gasped. "Merlin's beard," he muttered.

"Explain!" Tina demanded.

"E-explain what?"

"Explain the letter," she insisted. "You know what you wrote in the last several letters."

Newt let out a shaky breath. "Let's just say, for argument's sake, I don't."

Tina scowled. "Fine. You said you loved me."

Newt winced. The way she had spat the word 'love' out hurt.

"Well?" she asked. "Is it true, or not?"

He looked up suddenly. "How do you want me to answer that?"

She looked startled. She had come with the intent of getting him to explain what he'd been avoiding. She hadn't expected him to turn it back on her.

"I want you to answer honestly," she snapped.

He sighed. "Let me rephrase that. How are you hoping I'll answer that? Are you hoping I'll say yes, or are you hoping I'll say n-no?"

A small frown appeared on Tina's forehead as she sank into thought. She didn't know. He had never been in love before and no man had ever really loved her before. Of course, she didn't know if Newt really loved her but something in the way he looked at her told her he did. He was watching her carefully, his eyes full of expectant hope and . . . love. That other emotion is love. That's what he's been looking at me with.

At that moment, she knew that she did hope he loved her. She had always enjoyed it when a man had claimed to love her, even when she knew they didn't, because it had given her the perfect opportunity to bully them even more. However, this time it was different. Newt had fascinated her and the thought that he cared for her, and cared for her deeply made her feel special. 

Her frown deepened. "I just want you to tell me the truth," she insisted. "Just tell me if what you wrote was true."

"I-it's true," Newt stammered. He had known she wouldn't answer that question. "I loved you."

"And now?" Tina asked softly.

He looked at her quickly. Her tone of voice had been different. It wasn't the snappish, irritated tone she had been using for the last two months. It was gentler, more hesitant . . . almost hopeful. She was watching him with a slight frown, waiting for his response. Part of him told him it was best not to answer, to tell her that it didn't matter, but the look on her face wouldn't let him. He needed to tell her the truth.

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